


Acquiesce

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Post Bartlett Administration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-04-06
Updated: 2002-04-06
Packaged: 2019-05-15 13:43:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14791595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: "Sail them home with Acquiesce..."





	1. Acquiesce

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

"Acquiesce" � The Masterplan #3   
Category: Sam/C.J., Josh/Donna (in later parts), post White House   
Rating: PG-13, language   
Spoilers: None   
Disclaimer: None of this is mine, pretty much, except the way the words are arranged. Making no money off it.   
Summary: "Sail them home with Acquiesce..."

Time Line: Three days post- "Words Upon The Waves."

Donna Lyman watched fondly as her two-year old daughter fell asleep. Even after how many times she'd seen it, watching Becky and Jake sleep was one of the most calming things in the entire world.

She closed the nursery door, walking down the stairs into the living room. The house was quiet, waiting for Josh to come home. Everything always seemed okay when Josh walked in and kissed her. Yet he hadn't quite been the same since the visit to the Bartlets. 

He worried about the President � Jed � whatever. Donna also knew that her husband worried about C.J. often. She just seemed like such a shadow of her former self. Sam knew it � so did they all � but Josh had said he just didn't know what to do.

As she straightened up a bit, the doorbell rang. "Odd," Donna said aloud, moving through the foyer to the front door. She opened it, ready for the polite smile or the bored housewife's stare.

Neither was necessary, however; C.J. stood on the doorstep. "Hey, Donna."

"Hi, C.J." The women hugged. "What're you doing down here?"

C.J. bit her lip, looking away. "Um, there's something I have to ask Josh." She didn't want to, or couldn't, say any more yet. "Is he home?"

"Not yet," Donna answered, "but you're perfectly welcome to come in and wait."

"Thanks." C.J. walked in and hung up her coat. "Where are the kids?"

"Sound asleep." Donna grinned. "Nice to have a little time to myself."

C.J. laughed. "Definitely." She looked around; the Lymans had done very well since the administration had left office. Taking in the bay windows and the leather couch, she said, "Donna, this is a gorgeous home. Really."

"Thanks." Donna took the compliment in a voice with an undercurrent.

C.J. heard it. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Donna sat down. "I don't know. Josh has been sort of distant lately."

C.J.'s face was a mask of concern. "Donna," she said delicately. "Are things all right between you and Josh?"

"Between me and Josh? Couldn't be better. Everything else? Couldn't be worse." Donna sighed. "Well, they could. But I'm so bored. So is he, for that matter."

"I know the feeling," C.J. said fervently. Quickly, before the topic could change, she said, "Donna, I may have an idea. Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to Josh about."

"Really?" Donna was interested. "What did you have in mind?"

C.J. was about to answer when they heard the sounds of a door opening. "Donna, I'm home!" Josh hollered, putting his briefcase down.

C.J. rose as Josh walked into the living room. "Hey, Josh."

"Hey." Josh's face broke into a real smile as he kissed his wife and went to hug C.J. "How've you been doing?"

"All right."

"Likewise." He sat down next to Donna and put his arm around her.

As she surveyed the tightness in his shoulders and the slight droops under his eyes, C.J. just wanted to blurt out her mad initiative. Somehow, she didn't think Josh would find it so crazy.

As an overture, she broached a related topic. "Hey, have you heard from Toby lately?"

"Yeah, about a week ago, actually." Josh chuckled. "He told me about some wild-ass story he saw in the Philadelphia papers that you were gonna run for President."

C.J. gulped inwardly. Oh, hell. He sounded almost dismissive. "Well," she said cautiously, "I wanted to offer Toby a job. And actually, I wanted to offer you one too."

"A job?" Josh echoed, interest piqued. "Doing what?"

She couldn't back down now. If she said it to Josh, the frightening yet exhilarating idea in her brain would take on a new reality. C.J. said it in a rush. "Being my VP when I run for President."


	2. Acquiesce 2

Previously, in "Acquiesce":   
C.J. said it in a rush. "Being my VP when I run for President."

Disclaimers/etc: see part 1

=================   
Anticlimactically, all Josh did was blink. "VP?"

"Yeah." C.J. was by now getting rather nervous. He should be overwhelmed with excitement, she thought, and all he can do is parrot me?

Donna showed astonishment more visibly. "Vice President?" Her face conveyed a litany of emotion.

For a moment, C.J. waited, extremely apprehensively, as her best friend wrestled with the new reality. Finally he spoke. "C.J., are you mad?"

"What?"

Josh's eyes sparkled as he spoke, but with sadness. "It'd never work, you know that."

C.J. cut him off. "Josh," she said impatiently, "I've been through any and all objections you could throw at me. Sam and I have talked about this. I want to do this, and seeing as how you're my best friend, I want you as my VP."

He took her argument and digested it, then came back. "I'd be a liability."

"What?" C.J. shook her head. What was he playing at?

"Please." Josh's tone was quiet, and both women could read how badly he wanted C.J. to be serious. "I'm Jewish, and I've had all sorts of personal problems. Not to mention sleeping with my assistant."

"Your wife." Donna was stung. "I don't think anybody cares, so long as you married me."

C.J. shook her head. "That won't play, Joshua." Now she was getting annoyed. "What's going on? If you're not interested, just say so."

"No!" The sheer ferocity of his exclamation surprised both women.

C.J. just looked at him, entreating silently. What's wrong? Why don't you want to do this?

Josh got his breath back. "No," he repeated in a calmer tone. "I am definitely interested."

"That's all that matters to me." C.J. stood. "Josh, I don't give a rat's ass about any of the objections you've put forth. I want you on the ticket."

Josh sighed. "C.J., it's a huge responsibility."

"So what?" Donna asked, a trifle impatiently. "Josh, don't try to fob me off. You want to get back into politics so badly I can see you salivate when you watch CNN."

"That's true," Josh answered. "But Donna, have you thought about the down side?"

"Of course I have." Donna was getting more and more annoyed. "You'll never be home; *I'll* never be home, it'll be dangerous � but Josh, it's what you want. It's what *we* want."

C.J. spoke softly. "Josh, I'll beg if you want me to." His face remained in an agony of doubt. "Please." Her gaze never left his. "*Please.*"

Josh stood up. "I have to think."

The women knew Josh's "finality" tone, and that was it. "Fine," C.J. answered, more than a bit disappointed. She took her coat and began to move towards the door. "Josh, please think about it. Let me know. The press will want to know who my VP will be, and I have to give them an answer fairly quickly."

"I'll think, I swear." Josh smiled wanly. He kissed her on the cheek and stepped back. "Bye, C.J."

"Bye."

As C.J. left, though, Josh thought of something. "Hey, C.J.?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you have any other people yet?"

"Yeah, I do." C.J.'s tone was studiously noncommittal. "Kyle Gage will be my communications rep. Maria Quinn will run administrative stuff. And Laine Martin will run the campaign."

The last name made an impression, the way it was meant to. Josh's eyes widened imperceptibly. "And... Toby will be COS, Sam will be... first..."

"Gentleman, I suppose." Donna giggled.

Josh didn't notice. "Sam will be First Gentleman, and me..." He laughed ever so slightly. "It's crazy."

C.J.'s face fell. "So you won't do it."

"I didn't say that." Yet Josh studiously avoided looking at her when he spoke.

C.J.'s lips compressed. "Well, talk to me about it soon." Without looking back, she walked out the door.


	3. Acquiesce 3

\-----------------   
Previously in "Acquiesce": 

"C.J.'s lips compressed. "Well, talk to me about it soon." Without looking back, she walked out the door." 

\----------------- 

See part 1 for disclaimers/etc.   


Josh didn't move for quite some time after C.J. had left. Donna thought he looked like one of Medusa's victims � stonefaced was too mild a word. 

She had to speak. "Josh, what do you think?" 

Josh took a moment to reply. "What do I think?" He was still lost in thought, staring out the window. "I'm not sure what I think." 

"Why?" 

"Why what?" 

"Why don't you know what you think?" Donna knew it sounded incoherent. She raised an eyebrow. "It seems pretty obvious to me." 

That got him. "Donna, don't think for a minute that you know every little thing about me," Josh snapped. 

Donna retreated, hurt. "You don't have to be mean," she said quietly. 

Josh sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so sharp. But I don't like it when you push me." 

"I'm doing it for your own good, Josh." Donna sounded earnest. "You want this, I know you do." 

"Donna, you can't make that assumption. I admit I'm bored, but politics ... I don't know yet; I just don't know." Josh spoke with some asperity. 

"Well, if you don't know, you're not thinking very clearly." Donna sounded just as annoyed. "Politics has been your lifeblood for your entire life, Josh. You can't just walk away from it." 

"And why not?" She might be at least partially right, but he didn't like her self-satisfied tone. 

Donna's eyes had begun to take on a steely glint. "Please. What's holding you back?" She gestured. "Me? The kids? You can get around that." 

Josh laughed without amusement. "What sort of mother are you that you can talk about 'getting around' your kids?" 

That one hurt. "How dare you, Josh!" Donna spat, looking furious and hurt. 

As Josh was about to respond, he abruptly lost all his harshness. "Donna, let's just drop it for now, all right?" 

"All right." Donna fixed her husband with a look that plainly said she wasn't finished, merely abating for the moment. Damn the man, it was so self-evident that he'd sell his soul to get back into politics! Why was he making it so difficult? 

Josh noted with annoyance that she wasn't going to let it go completely, but he didn't speak. If he broached the subject again they would almost certainly get into a fight. And he was just too tired for that. Too tired for a lot of things. 

They walked out of the room, off to their separate tasks. They left C.J.'s bombshell to ferment for a while, but it was never far from either's mind. Josh's mind whirled in every possible direction, trying to figure out how to reach a decision. There were so many reasons, one above all, to decline, but... 

Donna seethed for the better part of the day over Josh's thoughtless crack about the kids. How *dare* he make that sort of insinuation? He knew that Becky and Jake were her world. Yet, for her husband, and for the chance to get into politics again, she'd have moved the world. 

The telephone rang, and she moved to get it, never deviating from her nagry train of thought. "Hello," she barked. 

The voice on the other end was timid, after that greeting. "Donna?" 

"Oh, hi, Sam." Donna sounded a trifle less gruff. "Sorry. Bad morning." 

"Yeah, I heard about most of it." 

"Really." Donna's tone was icy cold in a matter of seconds. "You've seen Josh, I take it." 

"Yes, I have," Sam responded in what Donna called his 'lawyer's tone.' "I've spoken to him and he's genuinely sorry for what he said earlier." 

"Thanks, Sam, but I'll hear it from him." 

"Believe me, you will." Sam grinned. "Before we hung up he mentioned something about wine and a lot of roses." 

Donna had to laugh. "Sounds about normal." Some of the bitterness crept back in, however. "I just wish he'd be a little more sensible about this whole politics thing." 

"Josh isn't sensible when it comes to politics, Donna. You know that." 

"Yeah, I do. But it's so goddamned obvious that he wants this; why won't he go for it?" 

"Well," Sam pointed out dryly, "he's more than a little worried about you and the kids." 

Donna was hurt. "He knows I can take care of myself!" 

"But he loves you, Donna." Sam's calm rejoinder took all the wind out of her sails. "It's only natural that he should want to protect you." 

"Well..." Donna couldn't help a bit of a sulk from entering her voice. "I suppose you're right. But still, Sam. Self-sacrifice isn't his metier. Please. You know Josh Lyman." 

"Yeah, but I don't think it's self-sacrifice. I think it's killing him." 

"Then what's his bloody problem?" Donna's voice rose involuntarily. 

After a silence Sam spoke, distinctly amused. "Donna," he said, "are you sure you don't want this more than Josh?" 

"Oh, I could very well want it more than Josh." Donna was matter-of-fact. "But at least I'm honest about it." 

"True." 

"Just � " Suddenly Donna was tired; it was as if she'd rehearsed the upcoming fight with Josh just moments ago with Sam. "Just please, Sam, will you and C.J. try to talk sense into my husband? Please. I'm begging you. He won't listen to me if he's got some idea that he has to protect me." 

Instead of answering, Sam responded to her question with another question. "Donna, why do you want this so badly?" 

"For Josh." She didn't have to hesitate. "It's like I told you. He's bored. He needs this, so he doesn't just stagnate." 

"Fair enough." Sam smiled. "I'll talk to you soon. C.J. sends her love." 

"Okay." 

The two hung up, leaving a considerably more thoughtful Donna. Where had all *that* come from? Evidently there were hidden depths to her own opinions that she hadn't quite figured out yet. 


	4. Acquiesce 4

 

\-------------   
See part 1 for disclaimers/etc.   
Spoilers (this part): "Ellie"   


Josh's heart wasn't in his writing that day. Instead of turning out brilliant prose, he had a line of gobbledygook: qwertyuiop. Too much was on his mind. 

His eyes shifted to the TV in his office. Idly changing channels, he saw the face of the Israeli prime minister, an infomercial, music videos, and... Sam. 

He was seated in a sort of roundtable format with five men and two women whom Josh recognized as White House aides and fellow law professors of Sam's. "Mr. Chairman," Sam said, clearly finishing a thought, "I don't think there's a single policy that you can say Stewart has made headway on through his entire term." 

"Well, you would say that, wouldn't you, Professor Seaborn?" F. Dalton Owens, a pompous asshole who worked in the Treasury Department, had to be the one to answer. "Stewart defeated Josiah Bartlet, rather handily, I might add, and you've never been able to stomach that." 

Sam remained calm. "Mr. Owens, that's illogical. All I want is someone in office who can handle the responsibilities, and Stewart simply hasn't lived up to his." He ticked off points on his fingers one by one. "The Middle East peace process is no further along than it was at the end of President Clinton's tenure. Violent crime has risen approximately thirty percent in the last four years, and gun-related crime is up twelve percent in the last year alone." 

"Professor Seaborn." Erich Milton spoke up. A fellow professor of Sam's at Georgetown, he was a natural peacemaker. "I don't think you can solely blame President Stewart for the rise in gun-related crimes." 

"Certainly not *only* the president," Sam agreed. "But if not, whom can you blame? The Republican congress which has caved in to presidential pressure on nearly every pivotal piece of legislation put forth during Stewart's tenure?" He shrugged. "Some part of the blame must go to President Stewart, or at least, the administration he himself has appointed." 

Josh felt like smiling and grimacing at the same time. Sam still had it. All his idealism, his skill at dealing with people, and clearly, his political acumen, had remained locked away within him until it had been called for. Yet Josh could not, with all certainty, say the same for himself. 

If anything, Sam had aged better than he had. It had only been two years, but it felt like twenty. Josh was no longer the political bulldog, adored by half the Hill and feared by the others. Sam was clearly still at the top of his game. 

The debate went on. "The prevention of gun-related violence begins with parents, not politicians," rumbled Matthew Olson, a fat Republican congressman from Colorado. "If parents do not enforce gun laws, is there a point to passing them?" 

"That's a good point, Congressman," simpered Lauren Sanchez, a professor of political science at George Washington University. Her tight little eyes zeroed in on Sam. "Anyway. Can't it be said that Professor Seaborn can't exactly be objective when it comes to gun-related crimes?" 

Josh's eyes widened. She brought *that* up? Nearly six years ago, and Sanchez was accusing Sam of being subjective? 

Sam's nostrils flared ever-so-slightly, which showed Josh how much control his friend really had to exert. "Professor Sanchez," he said quietly, "if you'd ever been through an episode of gun violence, you would not call my objectivity into question." He exhaled noisily to regain his composure. "In a perfect world, no gun violence would exist. However, I don't believe that America experiences gun violence because her people are more homicidally inclined than other populations." His voice dripped sarcasm as he continued, paraphrasing a thought of Toby's that Josh too had remembered. "Take the populations of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Switerland, Sweden, Australia, and Denmark and add them together. You'd get a population that roughly equals that of the USA. They had 112 gun deaths last year. We had 32,000.  When our framers were putting together the Constitution and spoke of the 'right to bear arms,' I don't think they meant three guys in a Dodge Durango." 

There was an embarrassed silence after Sam finished speaking, but Josh was filled with both admiration and desperation at the same instant. Could he be like that again? Did he even have it in him? 

And how did he know he or someone he loved wouldn't wind up on the receiving end of another bullet? 

Sam was speaking again. "I have no intention of mudslinging or accusing President Stewart of any impropriety. Yet I do believe that this country needs a new direction. We need reform and we need fresh minds." He seemed to face Josh directly as he spoke. "We need people who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty and try to make this country better than it's been." 

"Spare us the campaigning, Professor," Owens sneered. "As Josiah Bartlet is sadly incapacitated, what candidate out there could possibly meet your Utopian ideals?" 

Sam's tantalizing answer was forestalled by the moderator. "Well, we'll no doubt hear more when we return. We'll take a break now; more of Roundtable when we get back." 

Josh flipped off the TV, mind churning. Sam had looked good, even brilliant. If he'd been leery of the campaigning involved, he hadn't shown it. But he didn't have to worry about his fitness, he didn't have to worry about his wife. Not like Donna was some little flower or something, but... he loved her too much to put her in the line of fire deliberately. Well, Sam was mad about C.J., but... aw, hell. Whatever. 

If nothing else, though, he decided, he would tell Donna the truth. He had been cold that morning and he would apologize, over and over, with wine, sex and roses. But he would also alleviate her concern and perplexity over why he wasn't jumping at this chance. 


End file.
